Women of K-12 and Higher Education Leadership in Afghanistan: A Comparison of Progress, Successes, and Challenges

• In Event: Global Higher Education and Visions of Social Justice

Abstract

In Afghanistan, the field of education brought to the brink of extinction under the rule of the Taliban, has begun to make steps toward restoration, but one of the critical challenges it faces is human capital. Women’s status in educational leadership remains unclear. This qualitative investigation sheds light on women’s role in rebuilding the nation’s K-12 and higher education system by examining their progress, successes, and challenges, comparing the similarities and differences between the two groups of women leaders. Themes of human capital, gender differences, and prejudice led to lessons of social justice; human dignity and strength; and leadership. Women leaders embody resilience, the desire for capacity building, and the ability to formulate future visions of education.

Author

• Elizabeth C. Reilly, Loyola Marymount University